The Ecology Book

DIRECTORY 337

determines where animals choose to

live. His 1963 paper on habitat selection

by prairie deer mice demonstrated that

instinct and experience both play a role

in how the mice select their habitat.

See also: Ecological niches 50–51

SYLVIA EARLE

1935–

An American marine biologist, author,

and conservationist, Earle is an expert

on the impact of oil spills. In 1991, she

assessed the damage caused by the

destruction of Kuwaiti oil wells during the

Gulf War. Earle undertook similar work

after the Exxon Valdez, Mega Borg, and

Deepwater Horizon oil spills. In 2009,

Earle launched Mission Blue, which, by

2018, had established nearly 100 marine

protected areas around the world.

See also: Pollution 230–235

ROBERT E. SHAW

1936–

Shaw is an American pioneer

of ecological psychology, which looks at

how perception, action, communication,

learning, and evolution in humans

and animals are determined by the

environment. In 1977 he coedited the

book Perceiving, Acting, and Knowing:

Toward an Ecological Psychology,

which effectively launched this new

area of study. In 1981 Shaw was the

founding president of the International

Society for Ecological Psychology and

is now an emeritis professor in the

Department of Psychological Sciences

at the University of Connecticut.

See also: Using animal models to

understand human behavior 118–125

DAVID SUZUKI

1936–

Canadian scientist Suzuki earned a

Ph.D. in zoology from the University of

Chicago in 1961, and two years later

became a professor in the genetics

department at the University of British

Columbia. Since the mid-1970s, he has

also been a TV and radio broadcaster

and the author of books on nature and

the environment. He cofounded the

David Suzuki Foundation in 1990 to

investigate sustainable ways for people

to live in harmony with the natural world.

See also: Environmental ethics 306–307

DANIEL B. BOTKIN

1937–

Botkin, a prominent American author

and environmentalist, earned his Ph.D.

in plant ecology in 1968 at Rutgers

University. He writes and speaks on all

areas of the environment, from forest

ecosystems to fish populations, and also

advises agencies, corporations, and

governments. After decades spent

researching climate change, Botkin has

questioned how far it is impacted by

human activity. He is a research scientist

at the Marine Biological Laboratory, near

Boston, and is involved in environmental

studies programs at several American

universities.

See also: Halting climate change 316–321

EILEEN KAMPAKUTA BROWN

1938–

In the early 1990s, the Australian

government revealed plans to build a

nuclear waste dump near Woomera, in

the South Australian desert. Together

with Eileen Wani Wingfield, Brown, an

Aboriginal elder, established a kungka

tjuta (women’s council) in the town of

Cooper Pedy to fight the plans. They

were aware of the birth defects, cancer,

and other health issues following the

British military’s nuclear tests in the

desert in the 1950s and 1960s, and

feared that radiation could seep into the

groundwater. The plans were abandoned

and Brown and Wingfield won the 2003

Goldman Environmental Prize.

See also: Pollution 230–235

LYNN MARGULIS

1938–2011

American biologist Margulis attended

Chicago University aged only 15 and

gained her Ph.D. at the University

present ethological theories. In 1968,

he began teaching in the Department

of Zoology at Duke University, North

Carolina, where he was instrumental

in starting its primate center.

See also: Animal behavior 116–117

DIAN FOSSEY

1932–1985

Most of what is known about the lives

and social structures of wild mountain

gorillas in Africa derives from the work

of primatologist and conservationist

Fossey. The daughter of a San Francisco

fashion model, she graduated and

worked as an occupational therapist

before visiting Africa, where she met,

and was inspired by, Mary and Louis

Leakey. In early 1967 Fossey founded

the Karisoke Research Center in the

Rwandan mountains, where she

studied gorillas. Her best-selling 1983

book about her experiences—Gorillas

in the Mist—was later adapted for the

screen. Fossey was murdered at her

camp in December 1985, probably

because of her anti-poaching stance.

See also: Animal behavior 116–117

TOMOKO OHTA

1933–

Ohta is a Japanese population

geneticist who in 1973 proposed the

revolutionary Nearly Neutral Theory,

which included the idea that mutations

that are neither neutral nor harmful play

an important part in evolution. After

graduating from the University of

Tokyo in 1956, Ohta worked on the

cytogenetics (how chromosomes relate

to cell behavior) of wheat and sugar

beet, and now works at Japan’s

National Institute of Genetics.

See also: The selfish gene 38–39

STANLEY C. WECKER

1933–2010

An American animal behaviorist,

Wecker was an influential researcher

into animal population and community

ecology, especially the study of what

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